Farmers' food hub will be wide-open, diverse

HARDYSTON -- The talk could be wide-open, like farmers' fields, and diversified, like the variety of crops grown in Sussex County when a group meets Wednesday to discuss a "food hub."
The meeting is open "to all farmers, aspiring food and beverage entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs who deal with agricultural products in any way, shape or form," the invitation reads.The session will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday in the Saratoga Room at Crystal Springs, 1 Wild Turkey Way.So, what is a "food hub?""It's pretty much what anyone wants it to be," said Kendrya Close, executive director of the Foodshed Alliance, which will be hosting the meeting. "It's wide open. The concept can take many forms."The formal definition of a food hub is "a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail and institutional demand."According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, there were 300 such hubs across the nation in mid-2015, none of them in New Jersey.While the forms differ, the concept is generally the same: Farmers and other producers/distributors of farm-based products combining resources to sell farm-fresh, locally-grown food to the community.A report released by the Foodshed Alliance late last year said: "There is a need in New Jersey for a coordinated effort between the public, private and (Non-Government Organizations) sectors to build a food system that will ensure access to green, fair, nutritious, affordable food for all."Wednesday's meeting is a first step, designed to gather ideas and thoughts on whether there is interest in a food hub in northern New Jersey and just what shape such a hub might take.
In addition to Close, discussion leaders will include Jim Thaller, managing director of Talier Trading Group and agribusiness advisor to the World Bank, and Ben del Coro, a Foodshed Alliance board member and founder of the Sparta Farmers' Market.
"The idea is so much food is grown here and yet so much is leaving," she said. "We have farmers who don't have the time to devote to their crops, yet are seeking outlets for those crops, so they can devote more time to growing."
A farmer growing for the traditional farmers' market also spends a lot of time at the market, personally selling direct to the consumer.
One form of "food hub" staffs a farmers market, freeing farmers for other chores. Another form could be simply a wholesaler who buys product directly from the farm to sell it to commercial uses, such as hospitals or other institutions.
"Aggregating and distribution," Close called it, or gathering enough product from several farms, none of which could fill a contract by itself, to fill one or more large contracts.
"We are so in the beginning, there are so many models," Close said. "We really are open to most any idea."
The alliance's report, "State of the Farm", also called a "resiliency plan," was published last summer and can be found at: www.njlocalfood.com.
The plan was funded by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation with assistance from the Ridge and Valley Conservancy.
The Duke Foundation's stated mission is to improve the quality of people's life with grants supporting the performing arts, environmental conservation, medical research and child well-being. Ridge and Valley provided administrative and technical support for the study.
The plan's introduction stresses "a need in New Jersey for a coordinated effort between the public, private and NGO sectors to build a food system that will ensure access to green, fair, nutritious, affordable food for all."
The Conservancy not only buys and manages land, especially environmentally sensitive parcels, but also advises landowners as to ecologically sound land management. The conservancy provided administration of Duke grant and assistance with asset mapping.
The report has chapters on trends, strengths and weaknesses as well as opportunities and threats to the system in the study area of Sussex, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic and Warren counties.
A chart in the study, based on data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture an U.S. Census Bureau, shows Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire as the top three ranked states in per-capita direct sales for both 2014 and 2015.
Vermont leads the nation with $43.78 in per capita sales, far above second place Maine, with $18.64 in sales, and New Hampshire at $15.32.
New Jersey, with an overall rank of 39th -- all states plus the District of Columbia were ranked -- has per capita sales of $3.73.
The chart was produced by Strolling of the Heifers, a group in Brattleboro, Vt., which has founded in 2002 to encourage farm markets and local farm sales.
In the "Opportunities" chapter, the Resiliency Plan talks of several grant programs available through state and federal agriculture departments and takes special note of the well-established Jersey Fresh promotion, begun in 1984, which promotes local and fresh farm products.
The plan notes that local agriculture should take advantage of the state's culturally diverse population which would provide a ready market for specialty crops and adds, "There is undoubtedly opportunities for additional sales to meet emerging demands."
Bruce A. Scruton can be contacted on Twitter: @brucescrutonNJH
or by phone: 973-383-1224.

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